Marin Alsop conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the Last Night of the Proms in September. Photograph: Chris Christodoulou/BBC

It was the year of the big three. Wagner, Britten and Verdi, in that order, enjoyed anniversary adulation. Wagner would no doubt have bullied his way to the top but he hardly needed to, given the duration of his major operas, all of which were performed at the BBC Proms. Britten came in close behind, with every opera house, concert hall, music club, choral society and record label – supported by intelligent programming on Radio 3 – jostling to contribute to Britten 100. Opera North staged a strong Britten season. Albert Herring was everywhere and Peter Grimes ended up on a windy beach. That staging caught the public's imagination, is already on DVD, and showed that brave singers will risk the elements for their art. Britten also outstripped any composer in history by being featured on a British 50 pence coin.

Contemporary music enjoyed cult status, especially in the opera house: George Benjamin's Written on Skin had its UK premiere at the Royal Opera House, where Harrison Birtwistle's The Minotaur was given a sell-out revival. Michel van der Aa's hi-tech The Sunken Garden was premiered by ENO, who also mounted Philip Glass's The Perfect American about Walt Disney: not a perfect opera but full of interest. Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest (2010) was given its first UK and Irish stagings.